Windows are a ubiquitous fixture found on nearly every building structure. Windows allow for many desirable features such as a view of the outdoors, easy temporary opening means for allowing a breeze to enter indoors or the like, natural lighting means during daytime conditions, and many other desirable uses. One (1) problem commonly associated with windows is that users on the interior of the building do not always wish to allow sunlight indoors, such as is common when attempting to prevent a glare on a television or the like, and such users also desire privacy from outside viewing on frequent occasion.
Blinds including both traditional horizontal Venetian blinds and louver style vertical blinds represent a common solution to providing selective, temporary open and closed viewing through windows and the like. Such blinds generally comprise a plurality of thin rectangular sections which are selectively rotated by a user in order to allow a desired angle or percentage of viewing and light passage through the window portion. Other common features and devices include provisions for selectively collapsing the device out of the way of the window entirely and provisions for restoring it to its position when desired for use. Examples include curtains which are drawn and tied in a side position and released when cover for the window is desired, as well as tracks which allow for the horizontal movement and gathering of vertical blinds, etc.
One (1) problem associated with such window covering methods is that in many cases the method entails a unitary angle or covering state for the device as a whole. In other words, a curtain is generally closed or opened and the window is provided with either a lack of viewing and lighting, or such viewing and lighting is allowed. The individual slats of blinds rotate at a unitary angle and the such, meaning that all portions of the window admit equal portions of light. In situations where plural lighting conditions are desirable, users are forced to compromise. For instance, in a room with a television, the incident angle of light from the sun may necessitate blockage of the light in order to successfully view the television; however, such blockage of light leaves the remainder of the room in darkness. In other cases, it is desirable to prevent ground level viewing of the interior of a building for privacy purposes, although it is still desirable to provide natural light to the interior of the room.
Various attempts have been made to provide selective window covering devices. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,981, issued in the name of Ciriaci et al., describes a prototypical vertical blind assembly including a track for horizontal positioning of the individual blinds and a geared rotating mechanism for providing a desired angle to the slats.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,070, issued in the name of Warden, describes a horizontal Venetian style blind with a second drawstring threaded in a desired position which allows a user to provide an increased angle to the blinds above said position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,846, issued in the name of Ohanesian, describes a split vertical blind headrail which provides pair of vertical blind assemblies which may be separately outwardly moved from the center of the rail, providing unfettered lighting and viewing through the central separation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,694, issued in the name of Cohen, describes horizontal Venetian blind assembly wherein each horizontal blind is individually horizontally adjustable to fit a desired opening or in order to provide selective lighting around the edges of the blind assembly.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such devices are not functional as conventional blind assemblies. Also, many such devices do not provide features of separable adjustability. Furthermore, many such devices do not allow for an infinite range of relative adjustability between these differing portions of the device. In addition, many such devices are not able to replace an existing conventional blind assembly. Accordingly, there exists a need for a window blind without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.